Julbo tells you, through the great names (Lionel Terray, Yannick Seigneur, Ueli Steck...) who shape thehistory of mountaineering, its heritage. This saga will help you understand the evolution of this sport, which for some is a profession or even an art of living and why the Jura brand is intimately linked to the mountains.

Here is what you can read on the panel with which many of Julbo pass by every day. This sentence symbolises the birth of the eyewear industry in the Jura basin. In 1888, Jules Beaud founded his eyewear brand on the strength of the region's know-how. With innovation as his guiding principle, he made a pair of sunglasses at the request of the crystal makers of the Chamonix valley. This trade, which has existed since prehistoric times, requires mountaineering skills: these men in search of rare crystals travel the mountains to find them hidden in the rock in order to sell them. They spend time at altitude on the walls, on the glaciers, on the snow... it is therefore essential for them to protect themselves from the dangers of the sun.

Jules Beaud father founder of the brand

The bezel created by Jules Beaud already includes the main lines of what will be done in the 1950s, in particular with the presence of side protections. The lenses are made of tinted minerals such as smoky quartz. In a sense the crystal makers were involved in the manufacture of their sunglasses.

The "horseshoe" shape, shown in the photo below, is designed to cover the face as much as possible and limit the discomfort associated with reverberations. At the time, it was an avant-garde design but not necessarily new. The design would have been invented at the end of the 18th century. The legacy of this first pair of glasses for chamoniard crystal makers has remained anchored in the DNA of Julbo.

Before the appearance of tinted lenses, the peoples of the far north used " glasses " carved from wood or bone with tiny slits to avoid being dazzled. Admittedly, this was not the most effective in terms of field of vision!

The profession of crystal maker "he who earns his living in search of crystal" gradually disappeared in the middle of the 20th century. Was it because they had operated all the crystal "furnaces" and the activity was no longer profitable enough? Was it the climatic conditions that made the hunt difficult? Was it the fact thatmountaineering became more accessible and that crystal makers gradually became mountain guides, a more remunerative activity? It is highly probable that a combination of all these factors explains this decline. However, the tradition continues for a few passionate collectors, thanks to the improvement of mountaineering and climbing techniques, without being a means of subsistence.

In the aftermath of the two world wars, the conquest of new summits in Europe and throughout the world is a means for the various Western governments to assert (or reaffirm) their power. Germany and England set up numerous and heavy expeditions in this direction as early as the 1930s. It was not until the 1950s that the French government took up the task. And thanks to the great national expeditions financed by France, the brand then set off toclimb the world's most prestigious summits, accompanying the greatest mountaineers of their time.

What does Julbo sell?

Julbo. is a specialist in the sale of outdoor sunglasses for skiing / mountaineering / trail / running / water sports and for children.

The Jura-based brand also sells helmets and ski masks.